Sonality

February 23, 2017

The Concept

Sonality generates a virtual world that permits you to create your own brand to show who you are and how you want your friends and the public to perceive you. Think of it as a next-generation mix between Tron, Myspace, Facebook, Pinterest, and Second Life!

The Origin

A few months ago, I invested in a start-up called Holodeck Factory that develops walk-in immersive rooms. Their main product is like a Star Trek ‘Holodeck’ where you can see and walk among virtual creations. I quickly thought of a ton of new virtual-based concepts, and Sonality is one of them. Could it become a profitable business model?

How It Works

The idea is to let your friends be digitally inside your virtual world, built from your own creations and curated content. For example, in the video room, you would be able to sit down and view videos created by your host. Another area could display your social network feeds. You could play the videogames preferred by your friend by visiting their virtual “Flynn’s” Arcade, listen to their music, or see their vehicle collection in their garage…. Whether you like flowers, home design, or animals, you could definitely design an immersive experience.

Each Sonality world would be designed and modified by its owner. Over the years this virtual house would evolve and grow. In fact, it could even remain active after you pass away: an avatar driven by an AI could learn from you and carry-on your role for a number of given years.

You would be able to link your world with your friends using a simple door or by placing your virtual world on an island that they could fly to for example. In real life, you could easily set-up the Holodeck in your garage or basement to get an extra feeling of movement instead of just using VR gear.

What It’s Used For

Some people will spend hours building their ‘Sonality’ to express all the things they love or aspire to do, be, or have in life. Celebrities could use them to attract and engage fans. Most users would escape to their virtual mansion and live cool experiences that they couldn’t afford or find the time to do in real life. People already have an online profile and they tend to use more than one social network, so I think there’s a market for personal virtual worlds like the Sonality concept.

The Designer

The Sonality concept was developed in collaboration with Ashish Thulkar, an Industrial Designer from Bangalore, India. Ashish graduated with a master’s degree in design from the Indian Institute of Science in 2014. He currently works as a freelance vehicle designer in India. He also created the Drone Tower concept and the Tridika people mover.